LAKEPORT — Robert Scott Hisel, 52, sporting a long gray beard and untamed gray hair above a tie-dye T-shirt partially covered by a black vest, pleaded no contest to charges of being a convicted felon with a firearm and assault on a peace officer with a weapon other than a firearm.
Hisel”s charges stem from an incident on April 21 and a standoff with law enforcement on May 15, respectively.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said if Hisel had used a firearm, he could have potentially been looking at about 30 years in prison. He also said Lake County Sheriff”s Office Deputy Lyle Thomas would have been justified if he shot Hisel or even killed him.
“He”s lucky to be alive,” Hinchcliff said.
Hisel, who is only eligible for parole if the judge deems his case an unusual one, is potentially facing five years, eight months in a state prison, Hinchcliff said.
Hisel was involved with a standoff at the 12000 block of Fourth Street in Clearlake Oaks. Several law enforcement agencies, and a SWAT team, were called to the scene.
Thomas responded to the area after reports that Hisel was shooting at a woman with a high-powered pellet-gun shaped like an assault rifle. When Thomas arrived, Hisel reportedly shot at the deputy with that weapon and later with a pellet handgun. He then went back in his home for more than five hours where he was arrested without incident.
After an investigation, the District Attorney”s Office stated that it found no wrongdoing from Thomas for firing his weapon five times during the incident.
The prosecution dropped several charges against Hisel that he would have unlikely been convicted of, Hinchcliff said, including possession of methamphetamine on both occasions, felon in possession of ammunition and threatening a person with a weapon other than a firearm.
Hisel awaits sentencing out of custody. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25.
Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.
